There is a lot of hype surrounding a group of compounds called antioxidants that are contained in food. They are said to do everything, ranging from being memory protectors to disease fighters as well as being an antidote to aging. Antioxidants happen to be natural ways of eliminating molecules in the body that are potentially dangerous. Such molecules appear in the form of synthetic chemicals like plastics, pesticides and chlorine byproducts. Here is a look at the importance of an antioxidant diet.
Antioxidants help in stalling oxidation, a normal body chemical process that occurs every day. Alcohol, tobacco smoking and stress can accelerate the process. Should a disruption in the normal oxidation process occur, highly unstable and potentially damaging molecules called free radicals are formed. Oxygen triggers this formation of such destructive chemicals, leading to body cell damage if left unchecked.
Oxidative stress is likely to occur if free radicals production overwhelms the bodys protective defenses. This stress combined by cell damage caused by free radicals is likely to trigger the early stages of cancer and heart disease. Free radicals are also linked with development of diabetes, Alzheimers disease, cataracts, kidney disease as well as age related blindness.
The human body has its own defenses against such damage. It creates antioxidants for combating the free radicals as well as protecting the cells from being attacked by oxygen. They can safely interact with the radicals and halt the chain of damaging prior to the damage happening to the cells. These helpful molecules can be gained from the diet that a person consumes.
Certain vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin E as well as minerals such as selenium and manganese are antioxidants. Some plant compounds also act as antioxidants, such as carotene and lycopene. Many types of foods capable of being included in a diet are ideal sources of antioxidants. While selenium and manganese can be found in small amounts in meats and seafood, the main source of antioxidants is plant foods.
Antioxidant systems come in a wide variety. However, how they work within the human body as a team is something that scientists are yet to know. The bottom line is that one antioxidant cannot do the work of many others by itself.
The best way of getting a variety of antioxidants in a diet is by consuming foods that represent all the rainbow colors. Every color provides its own one of a kind antioxidant effects. Deep yellow, bright orange vegetables and fruits such as sweet potatoes, carrots and apricots provide one kind of antioxidants, while red foods such as tomatoes provider the other. Green vegetables like cabbage and broccoli together with purple or blue foods like eggplant and blueberries each contain antioxidants packages.
Decreasing the risks of various diseases like the heart disease and cancer forms a basis of the importance of an antioxidant diet. The ideal such diets are inclusive of whole grains, vegetables and fruits. By coming up with a diet that is rich in all the above mentioned food, a person can be assured of protection from some diseases together with a lesser chance of contracting others.
Antioxidants help in stalling oxidation, a normal body chemical process that occurs every day. Alcohol, tobacco smoking and stress can accelerate the process. Should a disruption in the normal oxidation process occur, highly unstable and potentially damaging molecules called free radicals are formed. Oxygen triggers this formation of such destructive chemicals, leading to body cell damage if left unchecked.
Oxidative stress is likely to occur if free radicals production overwhelms the bodys protective defenses. This stress combined by cell damage caused by free radicals is likely to trigger the early stages of cancer and heart disease. Free radicals are also linked with development of diabetes, Alzheimers disease, cataracts, kidney disease as well as age related blindness.
The human body has its own defenses against such damage. It creates antioxidants for combating the free radicals as well as protecting the cells from being attacked by oxygen. They can safely interact with the radicals and halt the chain of damaging prior to the damage happening to the cells. These helpful molecules can be gained from the diet that a person consumes.
Certain vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin E as well as minerals such as selenium and manganese are antioxidants. Some plant compounds also act as antioxidants, such as carotene and lycopene. Many types of foods capable of being included in a diet are ideal sources of antioxidants. While selenium and manganese can be found in small amounts in meats and seafood, the main source of antioxidants is plant foods.
Antioxidant systems come in a wide variety. However, how they work within the human body as a team is something that scientists are yet to know. The bottom line is that one antioxidant cannot do the work of many others by itself.
The best way of getting a variety of antioxidants in a diet is by consuming foods that represent all the rainbow colors. Every color provides its own one of a kind antioxidant effects. Deep yellow, bright orange vegetables and fruits such as sweet potatoes, carrots and apricots provide one kind of antioxidants, while red foods such as tomatoes provider the other. Green vegetables like cabbage and broccoli together with purple or blue foods like eggplant and blueberries each contain antioxidants packages.
Decreasing the risks of various diseases like the heart disease and cancer forms a basis of the importance of an antioxidant diet. The ideal such diets are inclusive of whole grains, vegetables and fruits. By coming up with a diet that is rich in all the above mentioned food, a person can be assured of protection from some diseases together with a lesser chance of contracting others.
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